Supply Chain Management

The worldwide exchange of goods, the mobility of people and the constant flow of information and ideas require expertise about transport chains and how exchange processes work, what design options are available and the ability to develop new methods to meet future challenges in an increasingly digitalized world. The primary goal of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is to achieve constant gains in competitive advantage and to organize the entire chain from strategy to implementation in the best possible way.

Supply chain management has constantly grown from an important instrument of operative optimization towards a strategic distinguishing feature in competition. Therefore, SCM is a key component in the performance of highly successful enterprises. It adds value for the company and its clients. Constant development, reconfiguration and optimization of companies’ supply chains are necessary to adapt to changing supply chain environments. However, this requires the consideration and interpretation of a large number of technological, product, process, geographical and structural data, information, and conditions and to derive situation-specific responses as well as anticipate future developments. Hence, well-trained leaders are needed who possess the ability to accurately position supply chain management as a strategic business function.

Developing and implementing such strategies calls for leaders who take on these challenges with a strong desire and ability to master them. Executives and project leaders require suitable methods to reduce and handle this ever-growing complexity. Therefore, they need a concrete understanding of the interdependencies between the supply chain elements and the growing amount of data exchanged between them. This is a prerequisite for the proper understanding of supply chains by means of data analytics and the application of methods and tools that help optimize cross-company coordination, processes and communication.